Student Success Story: Ezra Jackson Jr.
When military veterans return home from years of service, they often find themselves asking the question: “What do I do now?”. Through grit and determination, United States Army veteran and SecureSet CORE 2017 graduate, Ezra Jackson Jr. found his answer to that question. Ezra’s road to success was perilous at times, but through the help of others and through his own will to persevere, Ezra launched his cybersecurity career as a System Administrator II at the Colorado Governor’s Office of Information Technology.
Before SecureSet
One of Ezra’s most vivid memories upon his return from 13 years of service in the United States Army finds him sitting in a parking lot, staring at his release papers, wondering what to do with his life.
“I was coming fresh out of the Army in November 2016, scared out of my mind. With the structure of the military gone, it was all new territory for me.” — Ezra
While Ezra was an experienced IT specialist in the US Army for over a decade, he quickly realized that finding a comparable role as an everyday citizen was proving to be a difficult task. Ezra could barely pay his housing bills. To avoid a complete financial downfall, he reluctantly took a role as a Comcast call center operator and later as a convenience store clerk. With his jobs barely paying the bills and his will being tested on a daily basis, Ezra knew that he needed a change, and he needed it fast.
Eventually, Ezra’s friend and SecureSet employee convinced Ezra to try starting a career in cybersecurity. He enrolled in CORE, a cybersecurity engineering program. Ezra was hesitant at first, due to his lack of cybersecurity knowledge, but he also knew that he was running out of viable options.
“I had my back against the wall as far as career options and finances went. SecureSet really helped out with my transition out of the military. I knew IT, but nothing about cybersecurity. But I took a chance on the Academy.” — Ezra
At SecureSet
Once Ezra began his classes in the CORE program, he was soon faced with a new series of challenges. His IT knowledge wasn’t proving to be helpful in certain aspects of cybersecurity, and his test grades began to suffer. Executive Director of CORE, Gary Whitsett, recognized Ezra’s struggles and started to work with him on a more personal level.
“Ezra came into our program with a solid background in some specific areas of our curriculum, but he struggled with some of the deeper concepts in other areas. Through an individualized study plan, one-on-one tutoring through the more challenging concepts, and determination on Ezra’s part, he was able to successfully complete the CORE curriculum.” — Gary Whitsett
Through his struggles, Ezra remained steadfast in his commitment to succeed not only as a student of SecureSet but also as a budding cybersecurity professional.
“It was between starting a career in 6 months and working at a dead end job that could barely keep me above water. I knew I didn’t have any options other than to persevere and never give up.” — Ezra
At the end of it all, Ezra surmounted his struggles and performed well at the Academy. As a bonus, he also formed a few solid friendships along the way with his instructors and cohort classmates. Upon graduation, Ezra had built a strong foundation of skills and relationships that would prove invaluable in his first job outside of the Academy.
Although he had proven himself in the CORE program, upon graduation Ezra was faced with the daunting task of navigating his cybersecurity job hunt. Kimberly Hessler, SecureSet Co Springs Career Services Manager, notes the importance of the personalized approach that SecureSet takes with its graduates.
“Career services at big universities don’t have the time to take the individualized approach that SecureSet does with connecting its graduates directly with employment opportunities. Ezra is brilliant and has a wonderful personality, he just needed a small reminder of what he brought to the table and introductions to the right employers.” — Kimberly Hessler
After SecureSet
Through Ezra’s continued trust in the SecureSet team and his commitment to his career goals, Ezra broke into the industry and landed a role as a System Administrator II with the Colorado Governor’s Office of Information Technology.
As a System Administrator II, Ezra finds his role to be multifaceted in its duties. But the engineering skills that he has learned in the CORE Program, have had an everyday impact on his ability to thrive at his job.
On an average day, Ezra finds himself working with the configuration, deployment, and maintenance of the security infrastructure at the CO Governor’s Office of IT. He also finds himself monitoring and managing firewalls and endpoint security systems.
Ezra’s cybersecurity engineering knowledge has given him a wealth of understanding of the security systems that he works with, thus allowing him to use his skills in other areas of cybersecurity, such as compliance and threat hunting. Ezra notes that one of his first tasks on the job was to help remedy a malware attack on the department of transportation. While it was an eye-opening situation, Ezra was confident that he could use what he had learned at SecureSet to help remedy the situation.
Ezra will continue to carry this confidence with him throughout his career, knowing that he is a capable cybersecurity professional and always part of the SecureSet Academy family.
“SecureSet opened up a door for me, taught me to humble myself and learn security. The family environment of the place is what I loved the most. SecureSet has a ‘no man left behind’ mindset, even after graduation. If you have a passion to better your craft, SecureSet is the place to be. You can always go back for help from anyone working there. They really care.” — Ezra
Ezra Jackson Jr. is just one of several success stories to come out of SecureSet Academy. 90% of SecureSet’s students have landed a cybersecurity job within six months of graduation. Securing the Future becomes an achievable mission through the matchmaking of students, like Ezra, and SecureSet’s distinguished employment network.
